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North St. Paul police arrest 'zombie hunter'

Resident now faces two felony charges

It's not even Halloween yet, and creepy clowns have been making the news. As if that weren't enough, apparently North St. Paul residents also need to be wary of zombies -- and zombie hunters.

About 5 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 8, North St. Paul police responded to a call from a resident whose home on the 1900 block of Memory Lane was shot at.

Once on the scene, police said they found a man walking through the neighborhood with an assault rifle who claimed he was shooting at a zombie.

Captain Dustin Nikituk said in a phone interview that the man appeared to have been drinking and was intoxicated.

According to the incident report, the resident who called in the shot was woken by the sound of a gunshot and breaking glass in his bedroom. It was later determined that the bullet entered his bedroom and hit the wall just above his head as he slept.

The bullet then ricocheted and hit a second wall. A bullet fragment was reportedly located under a nightstand.

The criminal complaint states that police found Ryan Stanislaw, 24, walking through the neighborhood with a Bushmaster AR 15 rifle slung over his neck.

Stanislaw reportedly told police, "I'm out here making sure my neighborhood is safe ... I didn't see the cops so I figured I better do something."

Police said they gained control of the rifle and then visited the home Stanislaw shares with his mother and stepfather, where he allegedly admitted to officers that he shot one round from the property's driveway.

When asked what he was shooting at, Stanislaw allegedly said, "Someone walking up the road; it was a zombie."

Previous conviction

Police found a spent Hornady .223 shell casing in the driveway, which had a direct line of sight to the home that was shot, according to the criminal complaint.

Stanislaw allegedly told police on the scene to be careful because there were more zombies out there.

According to the incident report, Stanislaw's mother told police that her son does not have a history of mental illness.

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office has charged Stanislaw with a felony dangerous weapons charge for intentionally firing a gun "under circumstances that endanger the safety of another."

He also was charged with possession of a firearm/ammunition, while it was prohibited for him to do so. The restriction is due to a previous conviction: On Sept. 29, Stanislaw was convicted on felony level charges of terroristic threats

The criminal complaint for that conviction states a taxi picked up Stanislaw April 13, but before reaching his home, Stanislaw had the driver pull over and he tried to pay his fare with a bank card. When the driver was unable to print him a receipt, he punched the driver in the back of the head.

The driver got out of the car and Stanislaw eventually also got out of the car. He reportedly began waving a knife around, lunged at the driver and kicked him in the shin.

The driver, who feared for his life, ran away. Stanislaw slashed two of the cab's tires before he left.

Stanislaw is being held at the Ramsey County Jail for the zombie incident on $100,000 bail. His first court hearing took place Oct. 14, and an omnibus hearing is planned for Wednesday, Oct. 26.